Mars
Where is Mars?
Look east, about 41° up at 05:17 in Cancer. It rises at 00:36 and climbs through the night.
- Rises
- 00:36
- Highest
- 08:30
- Sets
- 16:25
- Best after dark
- 05:17 · 41°
Can I see Mars tonight?
From London tonight, Mars is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the east at 41°.
At magnitude 1.1 it is one of the brighter points in the sky, easy to see by eye when it’s clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
When is the best time to see Mars?
Mars is best around opposition, when Earth passes between it and the Sun. Then it rises around sunset, is up all night and is at its brightest and largest.
The next opposition is on February 19, 2027.
What does Mars look like?
Eyes
A steady orange-red point. Very bright near opposition, much fainter at other times.
Binoculars
Still a point, but its color is easier to see. Watch it move against the stars from week to week.
Telescope
A small disk. Near opposition, a telescope of 100 mm or more can show a white polar cap and dark surface markings on steady nights. At other times Mars is too small to show much detail.
About Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, a cold desert world about half the size of Earth. Iron oxide in its dust gives it the rusty color you can see with your own eyes.
Its brightness changes more than any other planet’s. About every 26 months, Earth overtakes Mars on the inside track and the two planets are at their closest. Around this time, called opposition, Mars rises at sunset, stays up all night and outshines nearly every star. Months later, on the far side of the Sun, it fades to an ordinary-looking reddish star.
Mars has the largest volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons, and a canyon system, Valles Marineris, that would stretch across North America. Its thin atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, and its polar caps hold water ice and frozen carbon dioxide.
Rovers and orbiters have studied Mars for decades. They have found clear evidence that liquid water once flowed across its surface.
Mars has seasons, because its axis is tilted by a similar amount to Earth’s. Dust storms can grow to cover the whole planet, hiding its surface markings from telescopes on Earth for weeks.
Questions
Why is Mars red?
When is the best time to see Mars?
Can I see Mars’s moons?
Sources: SkyMate; star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences